Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has reportedly bought the oil refiner Italiana Petroli (IP), one of Italy’s largest petrol station networks.
The news was reported by Reuters on Monday, noting that the financial terms of the agreement were also not disclosed.
‘IP operates a refining capacity of roughly 200,000 barrels per day and a network of more than 4,500 fuel stations. It also owns key storage and transport infrastructure across Italy, including facilities for jet fuel’, Reuters wrote.
According to the article, in 2024, IP reported an adjusted core profit of nearly €500 million ($590 million).
Reuters also reported that IP currently owns two refineries in Italy — in the eastern city of Ancona and the SARPOM refinery to the north — as well as a tolling contract for the Alma refinery in Ravenna.
Azerbaijan–Italy trade relations
Historically, Italy has been the leading purchaser of Azerbaijani oil.
‘Between January and August, Azerbaijan exported approximately 9.2 million tons of crude oil to Italy, with a total value of $4.8 billion’, a recent Caliber article read.
Caliber reported that Azerbaijan’s crude oil exports reached nearly 15.9 million tons from January through August 2025, with the value totaling approximately $8.4 billion. According to the State Statistical Committee, in 2024, Azerbaijan's exports to Italy were $10.8 billion.
The trade turnover between the two countries has also been remarked on from the Italian side.
During a September 2024 meeting with Azerbaijani officials, the Vice President for Export and Investment Promotion at the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria), Barbara Cimmino, noted that trade between Italy and Azerbaijan had doubled in five years.
She also highlighted that this increase was largely due to the growth of energy imports, ‘which has made Italy Azerbaijan’s main trading partner’.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has also stressed Azerbaijani–Italian relations, noting during the same meeting that oil and gas was ‘an important area of our cooperation’.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
